04/26/2021 01:30 PM House FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 28                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to the registration of commercial                                                                         
     vessels; and providing for an effective date."                                                                             
Co-Chair Merrick  indicated that  the committee had  a prior                                                                    
hearing on HB 28 on April 22. 2021.                                                                                             
1:42:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
THATCHER  BROWER, STAFF,  REPRESENTATIVE  TARR, thanked  the                                                                    
committee for hearing  the bill. He recounted  that the bill                                                                    
removed  the  duplicative  requirement for  vessels  with  a                                                                    
current   Commercial  Fisheries   Entry  Commission   (CFEC)                                                                    
license to register  every three years with  the Division of                                                                    
Motor Vehicles (DMV).                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
1:43:18 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Merrick OPENED public testimony.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
1:43:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SUSAN DOHERTY, EXECUTIVE  DIRECTOR, SOUTHEAST ALASKA SEINERS                                                                    
ASSOCIATION     (via     teleconference),    relayed     her                                                                    
organizations  support  for HB  28. She elaborated  that the                                                                    
bill  fixed  the  unintended  consequences  created  by  the                                                                    
passage of SB 92  [Vessels: Registration/Titles; Derelicts                                                                      
Chapter 111 SLA  18, 10/11/2018] in 2018.  She believed that                                                                    
the redundancy created an  unnecessary hardship for Alaska's                                                                    
fleet in  communities lacking a  DMV office and  for out-of-                                                                    
state license  holders. She offered  that the intent  of the                                                                    
bill was to ensure  proper ownership and contact information                                                                    
was  on file  in the  event  the vessel  was abandoned.  She                                                                    
encouraged the committee to pass the legislation.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:45:19 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ROBERT HEYANO, SELF,  DILLINGHAM (via teleconference), spoke                                                                    
in support  of HB  28. He  shared that  he was  a commercial                                                                    
herring and  salmon fisher  in Bristol  Bay. He  agreed that                                                                    
the   bill  corrected   an  oversight.   He  believed   that                                                                    
commercial  fishing  vessels had  sufficient  identification                                                                    
and asked for passage of the bill.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:46:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHELSEA  HAISMAN,   EXECUTIVE  DIRECTOR,   CORDOVA  DISTRICT                                                                    
FISHERMAN  UNITED, CORDOVA  (via  teleconference), spoke  in                                                                    
support of HB 28. She  conveyed that the bill eliminated the                                                                    
need for an  additional vessel registration with  the DMV as                                                                    
required  by  prior  passage  of   SB  92  and  provided  an                                                                    
exemption  for   vessels  registered  with   the  Commercial                                                                    
Fisheries  Entry Commission  (CFEC).  Currently, all  vessel                                                                    
owners who participate in  Alaskas  commercial fisheries are                                                                    
required  to  register their  vessel  with  the CFEC,  which                                                                    
provided each  vessel with a permanent  Alaska Department of                                                                    
Fish  and  Game  (ADF&G)  number. She  indicated  that  CFEC                                                                    
already  had  a  database  that was  easily  searchable  and                                                                    
publicly accessible online, and  vessels registered with the                                                                    
CFEC  are  well documented  by  the  state. Most  commercial                                                                    
fishermen had U.S. Coast Guard documented vessels.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:47:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Merrick CLOSED public testimony.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
HB  28  was   HEARD  and  HELD  in   committee  for  further                                                                    
consideration.